ANGLING

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 69, 15 December 1923, Page 21

ANGLING

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Tho Waikanae is coming into its own again. Latterly anglers who visited this beautiful stream have met with scant success, but last week-end n very nice bag of 15 fish was taken, and on Sunday a limit bag (20) was taken on tho Purple March Brown. Fishing near Trentham, an angler during the week-end secured three trout, two of 21b. weight, and one of 11b.

Reports from the Rangitikei state that there aro any amount of large fish in the river, Hiit anglers cannot induce them to take the fly. In every hole the fish can be seen cruising about, but ignore the daintiest lures. Meanwhile the wormer, with a nondescript rod jutting out over a deep holo in the support of a forked stick, allows the twining worm to do all the work for him, and lands good fish. The only objection to the use of the worm as a set bait is that all trout pouch the hook, and have to be disembowelled to remove it, so the smaller ones, that would otherwise be returned to the water have no chance. Fished down the ripples, this does not happen to the same extent, but then the fish are not caught that way so well.

Hutt anglers report that the big trout are feeding on the caddis worm at the edge of the stream, where they lie with their back fins out of the water, oblivious to every other form of bait. Even creeper dropped circumspectly among them does not draw them from the steady crunching of the soft-shelled delicacy. Caddis, and indeed any form of shell, periwinkle, etc., drives the flesh of the trout a firmness and consistency, and that rich red hue which is the sign of perfect health. In some of the southern streams, and certainly in some of tho smaller lakes where the trout have eaten out the minnows and bullies, the shell forms the onlv food for the fish, which nevertheless thrive. The large and wise ones let the small fry do their marketing for them, and then gobble them.

"Coch-y-Bondhu.")

The Lower Hutt River has been suffering from the dry nor’-westers of tho past two or three weeks which always have a bad effect on that, stream, on the fly fishing generally, and particularly on the night rise, ono of the most prolific sources of fish. A slight fresh on Saturday night improved things a good deal, and some very respectable baskets have been taken. During the evening rise, on the dry Peveril of tho Peak, one angler took eight fish, averaging 2-’ lb., near the Moonshine bridge. On the bully, at Gear Island, well down tbq river, near the mouth. < other angler (who took a 14-pounder there last year) landed an and a 101-pounder over the week-end. Gear Island seems to bo a favourite spot for big fish. An angler who has been there before, profiting by the experience, took strong tackle to the head water of Martin’s River, which flows into the Akatarawa, where all the fish are big. Using Hardv’s Favourite and Burrough’s Fancy, he landed nine fish averaging over 41b.

The AA’ainui seems to give always the same result to one angler who frenuents it regularly and this shows-.that if the angler be master of his craft, he need hardly ever leave a stream without fish. His bag ranges from a dozen to eighteen fish. On Saturday he returned with 14 trout. Another angler, a veteran, took a limit bag last week in the AA r ainui from a. Quarter of a mile below _ the main bridge to a Quarter of a mile .up. A record that will take some beating is that of Mr. Mcllvride. an expert dry fly fisher, who has to date, since the beginning of the season, taken over 300 fish of over lib. weight on the drv fly. A stream showing wonderful results is tho Mowhango. which flows into the Rangitikei. below Taihape. Catches of six and seven fish are not common, but one catch of seven rainbow there recently averaged 51b., all taken on a big fly-